My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic
by Alphadude007
Summary: War has come to Equestria! What started as an innocent paintball match has become a massive and chaotic paintball war. Two sides stand at odds with each other as canon and fanon characters wage war. The Solar Flares, led by Princess Celestia, vs. the Lunar Eclipses, led by Princess Luna. Submit an OC, join the fight for dominance, and let the paint fly! (Always accepting OCs)
1. Prologue

**My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic**

**Prologue**

War! War has come to Equestria! Is it war cries and the clanging of swords and spears that rings throughout the land? No! It is the sound of released CO2 and the splats of paintballs as they hit their targets! That's right. Paintball warfare has begun in Equestria. Hundreds of ponies march to war, hoping to claim victory for their team. As the battles rage on, bystanders can only sit and stare in awe at the spectacle of ponies fighting each other.

What started as a simple 3v3 paintball exhibition match between the Mane 6 has exploded into mass chaos and epic warfare. No one knows who fired the first shot, but what they do know is that only one team can survive. Equestria is divided. On one side, there are the Solar Flares, led by Princess Celestia herself. On the other side of the battlefield, there are the Lunar Eclipses, their leader being none other than Celestia's sister, Princess Luna. These sisters, once inseparable, have become cunning enemies as their kingdom was divided in the mass paintball battle.

This civil war consumes the land, bathing Equestria in bright blues, oranges, reds, and yellows. The conflict is not confined to just the countryside, but cities and towns as well. Ponyville, Apploossa, Las Pegasus, Manehattan, and even Canterlot itself are engulfed in paintball warfare. Soon, the canon characters realize that they themselves might not be enough. They turn to the fandom's vast amount of OCs to seek aid in the battle. This is where you come in, reader. Submit your OC, be it a pony, dragon, griffon, or what ever. Next, choose which side they will be on, the Solar Flares or the Lunar Eclipses. After that, sit back and watch your OC shoot some paint and take some names.

The sides are taken, the battle lines drawn. The fighting will be long and hard, but only one team can emerge victorious. So who will come out on top? The Solar Flares or the Lunar Eclipses? Submit your OC, join the fight for dominance, and let the paint fly!


	2. Squad Up!

**My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic**

**Chapter 1: Squad Up!**

-Ponyville Market-

"TAKE COVER!" Under Cover shouted to her squad mates. The four teammates dove the ground behind a paint-splattered grocery stand. _Thwack! Twack, twack!_ The sound of paintballs colliding with the wooden stand sounded off.

"Where did those four come from?" Gear shift asked, as she opened her hopper to see how many balls she had left.

Match Bolt sighed, leaning his back against a wooden cart that was a few meters left of the stand. "Beats me." He replied, pulling the slide back on his paintball pistol. "I don't know how those fillies do it."

"They must have followed us. There's no other way they could've done it." Whiplash said, his following sigh was easily audible through his paintball mask.

"Impossible!" Under Cover exclaimed to the changeling that was sitting next to her. "I was sure I covered our tracks with my magic."

"Apparently not well enough." Gear Shift said in a heavy tone.

As Gear Shift spoke, a southern-accented filly's voice sounded from across the dirt road that divided the market. "Attention! This is the Cutie Mark Crusaders division of the Solar Flares! Come out with yer hooves up and we won't shoot!"

Grimacing behind her mask, Gear Shift poked her head up from behind the stand. "Kiss my flank!" She shouted indignantly.

Shift's eyes shrank at seeing a white unicorn filly with a paintball marker strapped to her hoof get up from cover and take aim at Shift's position. _Oh buck!_ She thought, falling to the ground behind the stand, the sounds of paintballs thwacking against the wood was heard again.

Under Cover shook her head. "Ah, Shift… always good with negotiations."

"Well I don't see you coming up with any ideas." Gear Shift replied.

"That's because I already have one." Under Cover said with a grin. She turned to Whiplash. "Hey, Whip. Can you pretend to be me for a few minutes?"

Whiplash nodded as a green glow began to emanate from his horn. Under Cover watched as a wave of green magic washed over her changeling counterpart. Whiplash's black coat soon became a solid green, a deeper forest green mane and tail formed on his head and flank, and his yellow-orange eyes became a light yellow.

Under Cover nodded in approval. "Excellent. Provide some suppressive fire once I disappear. Everypony got it?" She asked her comrades. They all nodded in reply. "Great. Three…" Under Cover's horn lit up bright yellow. "Two…

"Wait, wait, wait." Match Bolt interjected, earning an annoyed look from his fellow squad mates. "Do we suppress on one or when you give some sort of signal?"

Under Cover gave Match a confused look. "What? We go on my mark." she said irritably.

"I know, I know. But what is 'your mark'? Is it when you say one, or say something like "go, go, go!" or something like that?" Match asked.

Sighing, Under Cover facehoofed. She turned to her teammate. "Look, Match. When I say one, suppress those fillies over there. Does that clarify things?"

Match Bolt nodded.

"Okay. So you guys ready?" Under Cover asked, earning three nods. "Good. Now, three… two… one!" She said, vanishing in a flash of yellow light. Simultaneously, the rest of the squad rose up and began pelting the small fruit stand where the fillies were entrenched.

Meanwhile

"Jeez! These guys have us pinned!" Scootaloo shouted behind her golden-colored mask, crouching against the wooden boards of the fruit stand.

"So much for our advantage. Nice job blowing our cover Sweetie Belle." An indignant Babs Seed jabbed as paintballs splatted and thwacked against the fruit stand.

"Hey!" An angered Sweetie Belle objected. "Who's fault was it for not putting all your paint into the hopper properly?"

Babs snorted. "Since when is there a proper technique?"

"Since I became team captain, that's when!" Sweetie shouted.

Applebloom's eyebrow rose as she turned to her white unicorn friend. "Since when did we nominate y'all team captain?"

"Back at the clubhouse when this whole fight started. You remember that, right Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle pleaded to the orange pegasus.

"What?" Scootaloo asked, taking a break from looking over her position to see the enemy. "Oh, umm… nah. Wasn't there. I'm just doing this cuz Rainbow Dash is. Speaking of whom, where is she?"

"Last Ah heard, she, Applejack, and Twilight were busy in Canterlot. Ah don't think you'll be seein' her fer a while." Applebloom said, raising her hoof-attached marker over the stand and blind-fired a few shots. The opposing team replied with several shots on their position, all of which hit a few unfortunate watermelons just above the fillies' heads.

"We aren't going anywhere fast. Anypony got a plan?" Scootaloo asked, adjusting her mask.

Sweetie Belle spoke up, putting a hoof to her golden chest plate. "Well as team captain I suggest that-"

"Again! When were you made team captain?" Babs objected.

"Girls!" Applebloom shouted, causing both fillies' heads to snap in her direction. "We can't keep fightin' like this. We need a plan."

Babs nodded. "Agreed. Hey Sweetie Belle, you know any magic spells? Like a shield spell or a teleportation spell or something like that?"

"I can't do any magic spells yet. I can't even do a simple transformation spell yet." Sweetie said, hanging her head in shame.

"So what are we gonna do?" Scootaloo asked, getting down from the a stepstool behind the stand.

"I'll tell ya what you're gonna do." A female voice next to the fillies said. All four fillies slowly turned around, their fears instantly becoming realized at what they saw.

Before them was a green-coated mare with a deep green mane and tail. On her head was a navy blue paintball mask with a matching chest plate, the armor of the Lunar Eclipses.

The mare grinned behind her mask as she spoke. "I shoot all of you, we take this position, and move up this street and take out everypony else on your team."

The four fillies huddled together in fear, waiting for the paint to shoot from the marker that was aimed right at them.

-Canterlot-

In Canterlot, the sun was shining brightly on the royal city. A soft breeze blew through the streets, several loose papers were taking up in the current. Such tranquility was rarely seen in the usually bustling city center. No pony was frantically trying to make it to an appointment. No pony was arguing with a waiter about why his or her food tasted funny. No quarrels were heard in the streets. Such peace. Such tranquility. Such-

"MOTHERBUCKER!" Midnight Blade shouted in surprise as a couple paintball exploded in front of the wall he was next to, leaving two orange splats on the stone. He turned his head to see a squad of navy blue armored Lunar Eclipses making their way down an alley, their shadows on the adjacent wall giving away their positions.

"There he is! Get him!" A female voice shouted as the Lunar squad began to pursue its target.

_Gotta get back to Twilight and Steve McGarret! I need to get back to home base!_ The pitch black pegasus frantically thought as he ran down the alleyway. Behind him he could hear the hoofsteps of his pursuers. Turning his head to see them, every alert went off in his mind as he looked down the barrel of a marker being aimed at him. His body going into overdrive, Midnight took off down the alley, hoping to throw off his chasers.

"There he is, Lyra! Take the shot!" a male voice shouted from behind him. Midnight heard two quick shots of paintball fire and prayed to Celestia that they'd miss him. To Midnight's surprise and relief, he watched as two green paintballs zipped by him, missing his head by mere inches. That was the chance he needed.

_Can't catch me now._ Midnight thought maliciously as he rounded another corner.

Meanwhile

"Really, Lyra! How do you miss something like that?" Doctor Whooves said, giving Lyra an irritated look.

"Well my bad if I'm using hooves to hold my marker here, Doc! If I had something like I dunno… hands! Then this would be easier!" Lyra objected as the squad resumed the chase.

Berry Punch stepped in between the two feuding ponies. "We'll discuss this later, guys! For now, we need to go get that sucker!" She said, pointing her marker down the alley.

"Yeah! He's getting away! Let's go!" Bon Bon shouted as she charged ahead

Lyra, Doctor Whooves, Bon Bon, and Berry Punch ran down the shadowy alley, their minds set on one thing: to take out that Solar Flare scumbag they saw flee from them down another alley.

As the four rounded the corner they saw their opponent go, to their surprise, they only saw the concrete walls, the ground in front of them and the shadow cast by the one walls that spanned the opposite side of the alley.

"What? Did he just disappear?" Doctor Whooves asked in a bewildered tone.

Bon Bon rubbed her chin. "Well he was a pegasus. He could've just flown up and away from us."

Lyra lifted her dark blue mask. "Yeah. Our pegasi will take down that Solar Flare as soon as he gets up there." She said with a grin.

"Well. Let's go find some more then. Hopefully some pony that won't get away from us this time." Doctor Whooves figured as the four turned back down the alley the just came from and began walking away.

Meanwhile

_Whew. That was a close one._ Midnight thought, opening a red eye to check if the coast was clear. Giving out a sigh of relief, Midnight stepped out of the shadow he had melded with. Thanking for whatever entity that had granted him the power to become one with shadows, Midnight took off down the alleyway.

_Okay. So from what that aqua unicorn said, they have air dominance which means I can't fly away. I guess I'll just have to take the hard way back to base._ The pegasus thought as he reached the alley's exit. He looked to his right and saw the castle in the distance. _I really hope the others are having a better time than I am._

Meanwhile

"I can't believe he up and left us like that!" Twilight shouted as paint splattered against the stone column she took cover behind.

A navy blue pony with an unkempt black mane and tail in golden Solar Flare armor peered around the column he was hiding behind to try to see his assailants. His eyes widened as he quickly hid behind cover again, several paintballs bounced off the column. "He probably just got caught up in a squad of Eclipses! He'll be fine!" Steve McGarret shouted.

"I hope you're right, Steve!" Twilight shouted back, reaching out with her marker and blind firing from behind cover. Her ears perked as she heard a sharp cry come from the position she fired on. _Midnight, if you aren't back by sundown, I swear to Celestia…_ She thought, grimacing behind her mask.

"Twilight! They're advancing on our position! Can you get us out of here?" Steve shouted over the sound of CO2 being released from multiple markers. "I mean, I could run a distraction and probably take out ten at most before we're completely overrun!"

"That may be what we need." Twilight said, as her mind scrambled for a plan. After a few moments, Twilight had a strategy they could use. "When I say jump, jump straight at me." She said sternly as she began charging up her horn.

Steve gave Twilight an understanding look. "Teleportation?" He asked, earning a nod from his unicorn counterpart. "Got it." He said with a nod, turning around the column and aimed his hoof-mounted marker. Two clicks of his marker later, an unfortunate unicorn mare received three bruises, two on her hooves and one in the chest.

"I'm ready!" Twilight shouted beside him. "Jump towards me on my mark!"

Steve nodded in reply. _Well, time for some suppression._ He thought, taking a deep breath and exhaling into his mask. Turning the column again, Steve opened fire, spraying paint in every direction at the enemy ponies in front of him. The enemy Lunar Eclipses took cover as their positions were pelted by paintballs.

"Three! Two! One!" Twilight shouted. Steve broke from his suppressing position and leapt toward Twilight. Just as his hooves were mere inches from her, Twilight used her teleportation spell. In a flash of purple light, both Solar Flares were teleported far away from the battlefield.

-Appleoosa-

"Ready!" Sheriff Silver Star shouted to his troops. The sound of fifteen Appleoosian Solar Flares cocked their paintball markers sounded off. It had been a long and arduous battle, but the Solar Flares held victory at the end of the day. They had gathered roughly ten or twelve Lunar Eclipse troops into Town Square where twenty poles stood in the middle. Tying the front hooves of each Lunar Eclipse to the poles, they made the Eclipses easy targets for the firing squad.

"Aim!" the Sheriff shouted again. _One more word and this town'll be ours._ He thought, raising his hoof. All fifteen Solar Flares raised their hoof-attached markers at the Lunar Eclipses.

"Wait! Ah don't want to get shot!" One brown-coated Lunar Eclipse stallion shouted in a country accent. "We're all Appleoosians, right? We're all the same! Ah'm like a brother to all of you! Why would y'all shoot us like this?"

Sheriff Silver Star's eyes narrowed at the stallion. "Maybe y'all shoulda thought of that before siding with the Lunar Eclipses." He coldly replied. The stallion hung his head in response, ready to accept his fate.

"Fire!" the Sheriff shouted, making a slashing motion with his hoof. The sound of fifteen paintball markers discharging filled the air as paintballs flew. The Solar Flares watched as welts and bruises were instantly developing on the chests and bellies of the ponies they shot, sounds of pain resulting from it.

"Ow! Okay, okay! Y'all made yer point!" One Appleoosian mare shouted, a couple bruises making themselves clear on her right arm and chest. A few of the Solar Flares chuckled as one of them took aim at the mare again and fired a paintball straight at her. "Gah!" The mare exclaimed, her eyes clenching in pain as the ball hit her squarely in the stomach.

"Alright, alright. That's enough." Sheriff Silver Star said, turning to his victorious troops. "Who's up for some lunch?" He asked, eliciting many cheers from his soldiers.

"So are y'all gonna leave us like this?" The first Eclipse stallion asked as he saw the Solar Flares begin to walk off back to the courthouse for some grub.

Sheriff Silver Star looked back and grinned. "Maybe." He said, earning a shocked look from the stallion. "Don't worry, it's just 'till the end of the day. We'll give ya some scraps after we're done!" He said, trotting off with his platoon.

Tugging on the ropes that held his hooves above his head, the stallion sighed in resignation. After several moments, he spoke what every Eclipse was thinking. "Well, buck."

**Hey Fanfiction! Hope you guys liked the first chapter of this fun little story I'm trying out. I'm trying to balance this and GoL to get chapters out for each one at least every other week for each fic. As always to you readers, OC's are always accepted and I'll try to incorporate every OC I receive into the story in some form or fashion.**

**Also, I'd like to thank these readers for their OC contributions. You guys are what make this story so cool!**

**-Dark Storm**

**-Fajita88**

**-Firefairy1**

**-jesslyoko324**

**-Lord Guffington**

**-monkey22185**

**-PonySpin**

**-Rayquazalover9235**

**-stevemcgarret**

**And finally, if you didn't see your OC in this chapter, don't worry, guys. If I didn't get your OC in this chapter, I promise that you'll see your character in one of this fic's future chapters. Hope y'all enjoyed the story and keep bringing in those OC's!**


	3. The Brighter the Light,

**My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic**

**Chapter 2: The Brighter the Light…**

-Las Pegasus-

"SNIPER!" A golden-clad Solar Eclipse shouted in a Braytish accent as he dove behind one of the rooftop's many neon billboards. "GET DOWN!" He shouted to his fellow squadmates. The cream yellow pony hit the ground with an "Oof!"

"Sedgwick!" One of the Braytish pony's allies called to him from behind a Sweet Apple Acres apple cider billboard. "Did you see him?"

The cream yellow pony lifted his golden mask to reveal his frightened blue eyes. He scratched his ruffled blue mane as he shouted back. "I didn't see 'im! That motherbucker's probably up in one buildings!"

"Blast!" Sedgwick's squadmate exclaimed. "Do we have any air support to call in? There's no way we're getting off this roof without getting shot!"

Sedgwick pulled his mask back over his face as he responded to his friend's exclamation. "Maybe. Lemme make a call!" He said, pressing a hoof to a button on the side of his mask. "Gulf-Lima-Delta-Alpha niner-niner! Do you read me, over?"

A female voice answered the radio seconds later. "Hey dude, who's callin'?"

"It's Sedgwick! I need some covering fire over here!"

"Sedgwick… doesn't ring a bell to me." The female voice said in a nonchalant tone.

Sedgwick put a hoof to his face. "Cream yellow pony that talks with a Braytish accent? We met during squad assignment day." He described.

"Oh! That's you? Huh. Ya looked like every other dweeb in that place to me." The voice replied.

Sedgwick shook his head in annoyance. "Never mind that! Listen, I need some air support pronto!"

"Alright, alright. Cool your jets, dude. Where ya need the assist?" The voice responded.

_Finally some progress._ Sedgwick thought. "My squad and I are pinned by a sniper at the Hoofton Hotel. At the very least we need some suppressing fire to get off this roof. If you could take out that sniper, that'd be even better." Sedgwick responded.

"Roger that. I'll take care of that dweeb for ya. My ETA is two minutes. I'll see ya then." The voice said, a short cut of static following.

"Air support'll be here in two minutes! We hold here until then!" Sedgwick shouted to his squadmates.

"Two minutes?" One of his squadmates, Risky Gamble, shouted incredulously. "For all we know, that sniper's calling for support to take us out while we're sitting ducks here!"

"That's a chance we're having to take, mate! I'd rather wait for the assurance of air support rather than take the chance that the sniper's the only one gunning for us." Sedgwick replied.

"Well I ain't sticking around for this! The ladder down is on the far side of this roof and I'm making a run for it." The pony said boldly.

Sedgwick's eyes to widen in surprise. "Don't do it, Gamble. I can't risk you doing this!"

"Well what can I say? My name ain't Risky Gamble for nothing." The pony said, taking off from behind his cover and began galloping towards the far side of the roof. "Don't do it!" Sedgwick shouted to his teammate, but he was too late.

No more than a couple seconds after Risky began his escape attempt, a paintball zipped through the air and made a loud _thwack_ as it splatted on Risky's back. Risky fell to the floor of the roof, a green stain on his back.

"No!" Sedgwick shouted as his fellow Solar Flare lay on the ground. _That bloody sniper!_ Sedgwick thought angrily. _I hope that air support gets here quick._

Meanwhile

Up on the roof of the thirty story-high High Rise Suites, a unicorn with black fur lay prone on the floor. His black mane with a gray streak blew to and fro in the wind as he looked through the scope of his paintball rifle. Previously to his assignment in Las Pegasus, he'd specially modified it for shooting accurately at long distances.

SwiftShadow grinned as he looked through the scope of his sniper rifle. Bringing his hoof up to a nob on the side of his scope, he began slowly twisting it to zoom into the image of his hostiles through the lenses of the scope.

"Come out, come out ya little buckers. I promise to give you a couple seconds head start." He said maliciously with a grin.

His glowing red eye widened as it looked through the scope. _We got a runner._ He thought as he watched a golden-clad pony break from behind his billboard cover. Swift steadied his hoof, lined up the sights, and led the target. _Gotcha._ He thought, pulling the trigger.

A quick _pht_ sounded from the rifle as Swift watched the paintball fly towards his target through the scope. Swift watched as the paintball slammed into the back of his target, dropping the pony with a green stain on his back that hadn't been there seconds earlier.

"And another one bites the dust." He said in a satisfied tone, pulling back the slide of his rifle, allowing another paintball to be loaded into the chamber, and let it slide back with a _chck_.

_Amateurs._ Swift thought._ This is the easiest job I've had in years. This is easier than picking off fillies on the school playground._ He thought, chuckling at the similarity between that scenario and the current one.

Swift's concentration was broken when he heard a female voice next to him. "Sup, dweeb?"He took his eye from the scope of his rifle and turned his head to see who spoke to him. In front of him stood a brown-furred griffon with white feathers on its head that ended with purple tips. Golden armor clad the griffon, covering it from head to toe. The griffon's golden-eyed gaze stared through her mask and straight into Swift Shadow as it held a paintball pistol in one of its clawed hands.

Swift smirked as he raised his hooves, seeing that he was at a disadvantage. "A griffon? Is that the best they could send me?"

The griffon put her available claw to a button on the side of her helmet. "You're all clear, guys. Now get out of there before you get yourselves into more trouble."

"Thanks, mate! On your feet, soldiers! We are leaving!" The Braytish pony's response was heard through her helmet radio.

Swift looked down at the building he'd pinned his targets on and sighed. "There goes that opportunity." He said, turning back to the hostile griffon next to him. "So whatcha gonna do now, griffon? Shoot me?"

"Actually I'd love to do that. Thanks for the suggestion." The griffon said, aiming the pistol's sights at the pony assassin.

"Before you shoot, can I at least know the name of my opponent?" Swift asked, causing the griffon to slightly lower the pistol in surprise. "I mean it's only honorable that we know one another before we fight."

The griffon gave the pony a confused, yet stern look through her mask. "Gilda." She said.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Gilda." Swift said, slowly levitating a smoke bomb out of a satchel on his back. "So how did a pretty griffon such as yourself get tangled up in a war like this?"

"Wow. You're one overdramatic dweeb, aren't you? Asking what my name is and being honorable and all that hoo-ha. Well guess what, whatever your name is, you're going home with a paintball splat on your visor." Gilda said, resuming her aiming position.

"The name is Swift Shadow. And maybe I will go home with a paint mark on my visor, but not today." He said, suddenly smashing the smoke bomb on the ground, creating a big gray smoke cloud.

Gilda's eyes widened as she realized what had happened. Pulling the trigger, she fired randomly into the smoke, hoping to hit her target. After a few moments, the smoke cleared and her enemy was nowhere to be found. "Oh man. How'd I let that dweeb get away so easily?" She said in a self-disappointed tone.

Meanwhile

On the streets of Las Pegasus, warfare raged. Casinos were turned into bases of operation while hotel lobbies and the open streets were sights of open paintball warfare. However, the alleyways were different. They were quiet. Nopony entered them because they knew nothing would be there. Little did they know that one pony had made his escape via the alleyways.

Swift Shadow opened his glowing red eyes. On the wall, it looked like a pair of red eyes on a shadowy wall. Swift cancelled out his magic ability and disconnected himself from the wall's shadow. To a bystander, it would look like he materialized out of the shadow and slid to the ground, when what really happened, he simply fused himself with it to make his escape and slid down the building's wall to the alley below.

Swift looked back up at the roof from which he'd gotten away and scowled. "Stupid griffon." He grumbled. There would be other opportunities to hunt, but that one had passed. Sighing, he trotted down the alleyway and approached an opening to one of the city streets. Poking his head out and looking to either side, he found that the street was surprisingly empty. _Guess I got lucky here._ He thought. _Now, where to set up shop this time._ He thought as he looked up at the tops of the buildings that surrounded him. Oh there would be opportunities. And he'd take as many as he could.

-Canterlot-

In the outer walls of the illustrious Canterlot Castle, a group of Solar Flares had pinned a pair of squadmates in the statue garden. Behind the statue depicting three ponies standing on top of each other symbolizing victory, a pair of Lunar Eclipses fought for what felt like their lives their lives.

"Trimmer! Give me a sitrep!" Dark Storm shouted to the draconequus to his left as the unicorn poured more paintballs into his hopper.

"Not good!" Trimmer replied as she held her marker over cover to blind fire at the Solar Flares that were closing in on their position.

"Well no bucking hay it's not good!" Dark Storm shouted sarcastically as he closed the hopper to his marker and pulled the slide back on the gun, readying it to fire. "Is there any chance that chaotic friend of yours can help us?"

The female draconequus looked down at the unicorn next to her. "Discord?" She asked, firing off a few blind shots. "He's doing Luna-knows-what in the inner city. He ain't helping us for a while." She said, rubbing her head with her right arm, a dragon claw. "Any chance you can use some of that weather manipulation magic ya got?"

The black unicorn shook his head. "After getting us out of that mishap in the castle courtyard, I don't think I can conjure up a storm like that one for a while."

"Dang." Trimmer said grimly. She peered over the base of the statue to take a peek at their foes. Ducking quickly back behind the statue, the _thwack_ing of paintballs was heard as they splattered on the stone. "We aren't going anywhere in a hurry. You sure you're still used up after that storm? Can't you make a fog or something to cover our escape?"

Dark Storm's head perked up. "Trimmer you're a genius!"

Trimmer grinned. "I am, aren't I?" She said smugly, to which her squadmate gave her a stonefaced look.

"Haha. We can laugh about that once we get out of here. Fog doesn't take much energy out of me and I can make a fog screen thick enough for us to escape unnoticed." Dark Storm said as he closed his eyes and his horn began to glow a bright deep red.

"I'll give you some covering fire so you can get that spell up and going." Trimmer notified. Dark nodded his head without opening his eyes in response as smoky wisps of gray fog began to swirl around his horn. Trimmer poked her masked head above her cover and shouted, "Hey Solar Flares! Did you know I think it's really cute how you're trying so hard to shoot us when you can't hit the broad side of a barn!" Upon finishing the taunt, Trimmer ducked back behind cover with a grin on her face. To her surprise, no paintballs were heard splattering against Trimmer and Dark's cover in response to her taunt.

The sound of a stallion's voice pierced the silence on the battlefield. "Maybe it'd be easier for us if we didn't have to aim for such a small target you mismatched freak of nature!" The stallion shouted back.

Trimmer's jaw dropped. _He just went there._ She thought. _He really just went there._

"Trimmer… don't get pissed off." Dark warned, but it was too late. "I'm almost done with the spell preparation."

Trimmer looked down at her unicorn squadmate with a look of happy yet threatening calmness. "Ya know what? Break out the plates, because these guys are about to get served." She said, standing up from cover and opened fire on the unexpecting Solar Flares.

What happened next was somewhat of a blur for Trimmer. For the Solar Flares, however, it was as if Celestia replaced rain with paint. Paintballs flew back and forth, most of which coming from Trimmer's automatic marker. Both stallions and mares alike were riddled with paintballs, some of which couldn't see the original color of their armor after taking so many hits. Trimmer, on her part, had no idea what she was doing or how she was doing it. All she knew was that every Solar Flare would pay for that insult.

Behind cover, Dark finally completed the spell. "Got it." He said, looking over cover to notify his parnter. His jaw dropped at seeing the painted devastation his draconequus squadmate had caused the enemy team. Ponies lay on the ground, groaning from the pain they felt. Others were retreating from the clearly crazed draconequus before them. Shaking his head, Dark remembered why he got out of cover. "Trimmer! The spell's ready! Let's go!" he shouted to her.

That seemed to wake Trimmer up from her rampage. She blinked and looked back at her squadmate. Instantly, a spark went off in her mind that told her to back off from the fight.

"Hit it, Dark! Let's go!" Trimmer shouted as Dark activated the spell.

With a flash of red light, the ground was instantly covered with a thick six-foot high wall of fog. Trimmer peered through the fog and saw a red light through the gray surrounding her. "Dark! That you?" She shouted.

The red light turned in her direction. "Yeah it's me! Follow me! I know where to go to get out!" Dark responded.

With that, the pair of Lunar Eclipses ran from the paint-covered statue garden. The fight was won, but the day was far from over.

-Sky above Everfree Forest-

Fluttershy sat on a cloud, her dark blue mask lifted from her face so that she could look down at the wooded expanse beneath her. The Everfree Forest. Fluttershy both admired and feared it. It's complexities and mysteries filled her mind with wonder, yet untold dangers and creatures prowled below in the wood. Strange how such a tranquil seeming place was so filled with violence and danger. She wasn't one for danger, but she was willing to fight to protect her friends, albeit with some hesitation to cause harm.

Fluttershy's thoughts were interrupted by a voice to her right. "Commander, have we got any movement yet?" She turned her head to see a slim pegasus with a dark gray coat, a lighter shaded mane and tail, and bright orange eyes. On his head was a Cloudsdale police-issued riot helmet that offered him the best vision option on the battlefield.

Fluttershy shook her head. "Nothing yet, Kalvin. The last time the Flares made a strike here was a week ago. They haven't tried taking this position since then. To be honest, I'm glad for that."

Kalvin gave Fluttershy an incredulous look. "Glad? Why should you be glad for that? I say that we let those Celestia-worshipping suckers taste our paint."

"I know, but I just don't like the fighting." Fluttershy said as she shrank back from Kalvin's gaze.

Kalvin's eyebrow rose. "So why are you a part of this fight? If you don't like it, then you don't have to."

"I appreciate the concern, Kalvin, but if my friends are a part of this, then I am too." Fluttershy responded, trying to sound brave.

Kalvin smiled in response. "Glad to hear it. Speaking of whom, where are your friends at?" He asked.

Fluttershy looked towards the mountain on which Canterlot was built. "They're in the middle of the fighting over there. I just hope that they're alright."

"And real quick, which of your friends are on the Lunar Eclipses?" Kalvin asked as he sat down next to the yellow pegasus.

"Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and I are fighting for the Eclipses. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack are fighting for the Solar Flares." She said, her gaze not breaking from the picturesque Canterlot in the distance. "I hope they met each other in the fight. That'd be awful seeing friends fighting each other."

Kalvin gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile. "Well no matter what happens, we get through it together, right?"

Fluttershy smiled slightly in return. "Thanks, Kalvin. We should probably-" She began to say, but was cut off as her ears perked at a sound.

"Probably what?" Kalvin asked.

Fluttershy raised a hoof to Kalvin's face. "Shh. Listen." Fluttershy whispered, her head tilting towards the sound.

Kalvin's ears perked up, trying to detect the sound Fluttershy heard. Faintly, he heard it. It was almost indistinguishable in the light breeze, but he heard it. Flapping.

"We don't have any patrols due back at this time, do we?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

Kalvin slowly shook his head and pulled his dark blue mask over his face. "I think the Flares have finally decided to strike." He said, taking the barrel sock off his hoof-mounted marker. "Is there anypony out here besides us?"

"Any Lunar Eclipse squads?" Fluttershy asked, nervously raising her shaking hoof marker. "Just us. We can't reach the rest of our squad in time either. Dust Storm and Night Stalker went to assist the fight in Ponyville. The Flares would overtake us before then."

"Well then looks like we'll have to hold our own out here." Kalvin said, pulling the slide back on his marker with a _clik_. "We may be outnumbered, but we can still beat them."

Fluttershy gave Kalvin a confused look. "How?"

"Hide in the clouds for cover and don't come out until I do." He responded quickly. "Hurry! They're coming!" He half-shouted, taking off from the cloud he was sitting on and dove into the inside of a nearby cumulus. Fluttershy quickly hopped off the cloud and dove towards a small puffy cloud to the right of her and dove inside. Wiping some of the cloud away, she made a little viewing hole for herself.

The flapping soon got louder as Fluttershy and Kalvin watched what was passing them. Three squads of Solar Flares were flying right by them, all of which looked like they'd just come from a battle.

"So our new orders are to go to Ponyville?" one of the Flares asked.

"Yeah. Something about Canterlot being a converging point. From what I heard the fight is increasing up over there. Celestia could use all the ponies she could get."

A third Flare, a mare, spoke up. "Buck yeah she does. With the amount of troops Luna has, we should be fighting even harder than they are."

Fluttershy looked past the passing squads and looked at the cumulus cloud that Kalvin had hid inside. _What if we're found out?_ Fluttershy thought, her breathing quickening and becoming shallower by the second. _What if my marker jams? I won't be able to defend myself. What if they get Kalvin and take me prisoner? What if-_

"Hey, do you guys here something?" One of the passing Solar Flares asked.

"Nope. What did you hear?" A Solar Flare mare asked her male squadmate.

"It sounded like… that cloud was breathing." He said suspiciously.

_Oh no! They've found me!_ Fluttershy's mind began to panic.

"Well go check it out if ya want, but if you ask me, you were just hearing things." The mare responded.

"I swear I heard what sounded like breathing, Blaze." The stallion said, the flapping of his wings coming ever closer to Fluttershy's cloud.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and waited to be discovered. _It's all over! I'm done! I can't outrun or hide from these ponies! What am I going to-_ Fluttershy thought, but was interrupted by a loud cry.

"MOTHERBUCKERS!"

**Hey there, Fanfiction! Hope you guys enjoyed this installment of this fun little fanfic because there's more on the way! I'd like to thank the following users for contributing their OC's to the story:**

**-Guest (you know who you are)**

**-Mlpbrony**

**-lilshatespug217**

**-ZephyrExplosion-The OC creator**

**-Kalthesuperior**

**-Black Umbra**

**Thanks for submitting those OC's guys! It makes me smile seeing the comments and PM's you guys sent to show support and to give me an OC to use. Oh, and for those of you that saw your OC's last time, don't worry because I wasn't just going to use them once. They'll be back. Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter, review/critique, and keep those OC's coming!**

**PS: **

**To the readers of , thanks for making September my best month of fanfiction to date! Readers and viewers like yourselves make it all worthwhile to write for your entertainment. Thanks, guys and gals of ! Y'all are the best!**


	4. The Longer the Shadows

**My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic**

**Chapter 3: …The Longer the Shadows**

-Canterlot-

A lone alicorn stallion slowly walked down the empty street. Shops and stores lined the sides of the street, but nopony was manning them. The black maned stallion's aqua blue mane blew behind him in the wind, the front of his face concealed by a navy blue paintball mask. _It's quiet… too quiet._ The stallion thought, his eyes narrowing at some of the alleys between the stores. _Perfect ambush positions. I'm out in the open here for Luna's sake. What if-_

"Marko! Watch your left!" A female voice shouted to the alicorn. Marko's head snapped to his left to see a unicorn stallion taking aim at him from an alleyway. _Oh no, you don't._ Marko thought as he held up his hoof-mounted marker and opened fire. Marko watched the paintballs splat against their target before ducking behind cover in an alley to his right.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Pinks!" Marko called back to the mare who spotted the Solar Flare for him.

Pinkie smiled as she lifted her mask to speak more clearly. "Sure think, Marky!"

Marko grinned as he took out an extra paintball pod to reload. _Man is she cute._ He thought as the paintballs fell into the hopper's opening.

"Hey Pinkie, any idea where Rarity and Fluttershy are?" Marko called from behind a concrete wall across the street from his squad mate.

"I think Fluttershy was posted in the Everfree Forest! Rarity is strategizing with Luna in the castle!" Pinkie responded from atop the building Marko was standing under.

"Hmm. So any more patrols coming our way?" Marko asked, looking up to see the pink party pony's face peering over the side of the building.

Pinkie looked up and lifted a hoof to her forehead as she peered out across the skyline. "Nothing ye- Wait! Patrol incoming!" She shouted, pointing in front of her.

Marko tensed up immediately upon hearing the presense of enemies. "Ground or air?" He shouted.

"Air! Three meanie pegasuses are coming in!" Pinkie replied.

Marko's eyebrow rose. "Um, Pinkie, don't you mean pegasi?" He corrected.

"What? Oh well. I've got just the thing for them!" Pinkie said, going to another side of the roof and disappearing from Marko's view from below.

"But they'll see you! Get down from there!" He pleaded.

"Nopey-dopey." Pinkie's voice responded. "And don't worry, I've got just the thing for those mean old Solar Flares."

"And what's that?" Marko asked. He watched as something caught his eye on the roof. It looked like some sort of light blue circular opening. It suddenly dawned on him what Pinkie was using. _She's not using that is she?_ He thought, a nervous look finding its way on his face.

"My party cannon!" Pinkie declared from the rooftop.

"But Pinks, that thing only shoots party supplies, doesn't it? It'd give away our position." Marko called.

"Nope. I've replaced the party supplies with paintballs." Pinkie said in a simple tone.

_What? That's insane! There's no way that could work!_ Marko thought, the idea of the party cannon firing paintballs instead of party supplies seeming both strange and unorthodox. _But then again… it _is _Pinkie Pie._ He thought.

Marko let out a conceding sigh. "Okay, Pinks! Let 'er rip!" Marko shouted from below.

Pinkie saluted and positioned herself behind the party cannon. _Line up the sights, lead the target, pull the trigger._ Pinkie thought to herself. She looked down the barrel of the party cannon, predicted where the pegasi would fly, and… bingo. Pressing a button on the side of the party cannon, Pinkie's cannon fired a barrage of paintballs towards the pegasi with a _KA-FOOM_!

Marko looked up and watched the cloud of paintballs fly through the air towards their targets. _Like a giant shotgun._ He thought as he watched the pegasi get pummeled by the paint, all three of which were coated in yellow and red paint.

"Nice shot, Pinkie!" Marko congratulated from the alley.

"Woohoo!" Pinkie celebrated as her targets flew back towards the ground, recognizing their defeat. "Didja see that? That was so much fun!"

"Yeah it was." Marko said, his lips widening into a smile at Pinkie's innovation. "Now come down from there and let's go."

"Okie dokie!" Pinkie replied cheerfully as she trotted back to the roof access door on the top of the building.

While he waited for Pinkie to get down to the ground, Marko looked down the street. It was empty once more. Just him, Pinkie, and the lifeless stone walls. Or so he thought.

_He doesn't see me. Perfect._ Midnight Blade thought with a grin. He slowly materialized from the shadow on the alley wall, a smile growing behind the assassin's golden mask.

Midnight quietly cocked his marker. _Once he regroups with that pink mare, I can take out two birds with one stone._

Meanwhile

"We need to push on the outer courtyard." Rarity said, pointing her hoof at a point on a large map of Canterlot that was splayed out for the strategists to look over.

A sandy-brown pegasus stallion with a blown-back jet black mane shook his head. "But that'll create an opening in the statue garden. Trimmer and Dark Storm wouldn't be able to hold for very long against all the Solar Flares positioned there." He said.

Before Rarity could say a rebuttal, a ball of red magic burst into vision in the middle of the strategists.

"A communication spell!" an earth pony mare identified the magical sphere that floated in front of them. "This is the Lunar Eclipse Forward Operating Base. Identify yourself." The mare said to the orb.

A feminine voice shouted through the magical orb. "F.O.B, this is Trimmer! Can we get reinforcements at the statue garden?"

"Ensign Trimmer, we are unable to provide support at this time. You guys are encircled in the statue garden and you need to get out of there!" The sandy brown stallion said to the orb.

"Already on it, Dust Storm! Dark and I have retreated from the garden after dealing large amounts of casualties to the enemy. The statue garden is lost, I repeat, the statue garden is lost!" Trimmer's voice said.

"Blast it." Dust grumbled. "Fall back to the F.O.B. We'll have a new squad and a new assignment for when you get back."

"Roger that, Dust! Trimmer out!" The voice said through the orb before the orb began to shrink. It shrunk smaller and smaller until it had disappeared.

Rarity huffed at hearing the news. "Well there goes to farthest push outside the castle. We need to reorganize."

"But where? Between us and our forces in the inner city, it's nothing but Solar Flares. Before we can attacking the ground, we need is to take back the skies." Dust said, his wings extending to emphasize his point.

"Sounds like a good plan to me." A second strategist, a unicorn stallion, said. "What does our leader think?" he asked, turning his head to see Princess Luna. Luna had her back turned to the strategizing council and was looking through a window that overlooked the courtyard and the city. Paint was splattered all over the statues and trees in the courtyard, and even though she couldn't see it, on the walls of the buildings in the city.

"We need a quick strike against the Flares to ensure a victory. While we are stronger at night, they control the day." Luna said with a determined look. "Has Fluttershy reported from the Everfree Forest yet?"

"Negative, Princess. She and Kalvin could've gotten into some trouble." Dust said.

Rarity gasped. "I certainly hope not. Poor Fluttershy wouldn't know what to do in a combat situation." She said in a worried tone.

Luna pondered this. "We cannot risk losing Everfree. I know who to send." She said, her horn glowing a dark blue. A blue magical orb materialized in front of her. Luna looked into the communication spell and spoke. "Prince Zephyrus. Can you hear me?"

Luna waited a moment before a gruff-sounding response came through. "I'm here, milady. What can I do for you?"

-Ponyville-

The four Cutie Mark Crusaders trembled as they waited for the grinning mare to pull the trigger. Under Cover's grin grew into a smile as her hoof muscles tightened, ready to paint these fillies orange and yellow.

"No sudden moves. Raise your hooves." A voice said behind her.

Under Cover turned her head around to see a black and white striped creature with a matching Mohawk styled mane aiming a paintball marker at her. _I didn't know zebras were in this fight too._ She thought, raising her marker hoof into the air to cooperate with her assailant. _Where are Gear, Mach, and Whiplash?_ She thought, wondering what her squad mates were doing while this was going on.

"Zecora!" The yellow earth filly exclaimed with a smile.

"Applebloom, go regroup with Snails and Snips. I'll deal with this Lunar Eclipse." Zecora said, the fillies responding immediately by taking off down the market street.

Under Cover sighed, her opportunity gone. "So zebras are in this fight too, eh?"

"I am impressed you did this alone, but hurting fillies I do not condone." Zecora said, her aim not being taken off the green mare.

"How did you know I was alone!" Under shouted, hoping to get her teammates' attention.

"No need to shout. Your allies have been taken out." Zecora said flatly.

Under Cover's ears dropped and eyes widened in shock behind her mask. _Taken out? Did she get to them before I could get those fillies?_

"No need to be weepy. I merely made them sleepy." The rhyming zebra said, gesturing to where Under's teammates were. She looked and saw her teammates sprawled on the ground, bits of glass surrounding them. She looked back at her monochromatic enemy and scowled at her. "A simple sleeping potion is all I need. Now, will you concede?" The zebra asked.

Under was about to make a witty comeback when a low voice behind the zebra spoke up.

"Get your squad out of here, Under Cover. I'll handle this enchantress." The voice said. Both Zecora and Under looked behind the zebra to see a deep blue unicorn with a long purple mane and tail, his face concealed by a navy blue paintball mask. On his flank was a depiction of a cyan crystal surrounded by blue fire as a cutie mark. Under Cover recognized him immediately.

"Lightning Thorn?" Under asked, raising an eybrow. "Why aren't you in Canterlot?" She asked, fearing that her leader was unprotected.

"Do not worry for Princess Luna. Archangel is protecting her in Canterlot. Now I'll say it once more. Get yourself and your squad out of here. This zebra is mine." Lightning said.

Under Cover nodded and ran over to the cover where her squad mates lay asleep on the ground. Her horn lit up a bright yellow and with a bright flash, all four Lunar Eclipses vanished from the market street.

Zecora turned around to face her mystical opponent. "Have you come to fight one-on-one?" She asked, Lightning only nodding in response. "Before we begin, I'll give you this single chance to run." She said in a threatening tone, getting into a battle stance.

Lightning chuckled at Zecora's attempt to frighten him off. "Ready yourself, zebra witch. When this is over, those little fillies won't have anypony to protect them." He said with a grin as his horn began to glow a deep purple.

Zecora reached behind her and pulled out a sack of mystical powder. "Very well then, my dark rival. We'll see who wins this game of survival."

With that, the magic duel began.

-Sweet Apple Acres-

"Hold the line, Apples!" Johnny Dogwood shouted as he dove behind the barn door. _It's over. It's all over._ He thought, holding his hoof marker close to his chest.

The fight had been long and arduous, but in the end, Sweet Apple Acres was about to fall under Eclipse control. Roughly twenty Apple family relatives were holed up in the barn, taking fire from all sides by advancing Eclipse forces. Did it matter that Eclipses were encircling the barn they were currently trapped in? Did they plan of giving in and letting the Eclipses have this position? Of course not! They would defend Sweet Apple Acres until the last pony fell.

"We got fellers comin' in on the south side!" An elderly voice shouted from behind Johnny. His head spun around to see Granny Smith pointing out one of the barn's windows. Johnny leapt up to the window and could only get a glimpse of the enemy before ducking again as paintballs thwacked against the wood.

"Is there anything we can do, Granny Smith? We can't just sit here!" Johnny exclaimed as he heard a sharp cry of pain. He turned his head to see a brown stallion with a dark gray mane and tail get shot right in the middle of a trio of golden apples on his flank, an orange paint splat staining his fur.

"Golden Delicious is hit!" Granny shouted in surprise. "Caramel! Get yer caboose over to his position!" She ordered, pointing an old green hoof at where Golden was walking away from with his hoof marker held up.

A caramel brown stallion with a light brown mane and tail turned to see Granny from the other side of the barn.

"Yes ma'am! I need some covering fire, Johnny!" He shouted to the white and black spotted stallion as he ran up to where Johnny and Granny Smith were standing.

"Roger that. You go on my mark." Johnny said, lifting his paintball marker. Caramel nodded and crouched, getting ready to book it across the open doorway of the barn.

"One… two… GO GO GO!" Johnny shouted, getting up from cover and firing at random ponies through the open window he was sitting behind. Several lucky shots took out a few Eclipses, giving Caramel an opening. The Apple relative seized the opportunity and galloped at full speed to the other side of the barn, almost crashing into the wall when he got there.

"I'm out!" Johnny exclaimed as he emptied his paintball hopper on the enemy. Johnny's successful suppression attempt was short lived as paintballs began bombarding his position. "Aw jeez! We need a freaking miracle here! We can't hold out much longer here!"

"Did somepony say a miracle?" A feminine voice asked over the noise of battle. Suddenly, everything stopped. The paintball thwacks, the shouts and CO2 releases from the enemy, even the paintballs themselves floated in midair. Johnny looked around in wonder.

"What's going on?" Caramel asked from the other side of the barn as he cautiously looked outside. "Holy cow. Hey y'all better see this!" He called to all the Apples in the barn. Johnny watched every Apple slowly look out the windows, looks of bewilderment and joy etched onto their faces when they saw it.

"What's going on?" Johnny thought aloud as he looked out his window. What he saw amazed him. It was as if time had stopped. Everything looked like something from a photograph. Paintballs were suspended in midair, ponies were in the process of running to cover but weren't moving, and nopony spoke a word from the other side.

"You have your opportunity, Apples." The voice said again. "Make haste to Canterlot to regroup with our main force."

"With all due respect, missy…" Granny Smith looked up and said to the voice, "Ah ain't goin' anywhere."

A soft flash of yellow light illuminated the barn. Before the Apples stood the ruler of the sun, Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia stood before them in her royal paintball armor, the armor accenting her curves and her mane's color, on her face was a bold golden mask. Everypony was quick to bow before her as she addressed the Apple elder.

Celestia lifted her golden mask, revealing a pleading look in her eyes. "Granny Smith, I realize that Sweet Apple Acres means much to you, but it is a lost cause. Take this opportunity and retreat." Celestia begged.

Granny Smith bowed her head. "Ah'm sorry to say, Princess, but Ah decline."

"Ah'm staying too!" Caramel called. "If Granny Smith's staying, then I'll go down with her."

All the Apples in the barn rose their voices in concordance with Caramel's. Celestia nodded her head.

"I understand. If that's the case then I'll be-" She started to say, but was cut off.

"Um… Princess?" Johnny said, trying to not offend the solar princess. Celestia looked down at the stallion.

"Yes?" She asked, waiting for Johnny to finish.

"I'd like to go back to Canterlot." He said, looking around at all the ponies with him. "It's not that I want to go down with you guys, but somepony needs to be there for AJ. I need to give her the news that Sweet Apple Acres is lost."

Celestia gave a slight smile. "Very well. What is your name, stallion?"

"Johnny Dogwood, your Majesty." Johnny said, bowing before the princess.

Celestia gestured for Johnny to rise to his former stance. "You have five minutes to leave. After that, my time spell wears off. I'd stay longer, but I have other fronts to support. Goodbye, Apple family… and good luck." She said, disappearing in a bright yellow flash.

Johnny rubbed the back of his head. "Well I guess I better get going. It's been great fighting with y'all." He said, taking off his hay-yellow stetson hat.

"It's been good too, Johnny." Caramel said, walking up to him and putting a hoof on Johnny's shoulder. "Now get goin'. Applejack's waiting for ya in Canterlot and it's a long trip there."

Johnny nodded and trotted to the barn entrance, taking one last look at the ponies in the barn behind him. Giving a faint smile to them, he galloped towards the hills surrounding Sweet Apple Acres.

Johnny didn't have time to look at the dozens of frozen Lunar Eclipses, the suspended paintballs, and the newly repainted barn behind him. All he could do was run. He had to make it outside the combat zone. He had to warn Applejack. All he could think about was getting out of the farm.

When Johnny got to the last hill overlooking the apple farm. Just as his eyes looked upon the barn below, the sound of paintballs being fired rang out once more as the Eclipses closed in on the Apples. He could only watch and sigh mournfully as navy blue armored ponies surrounded the barn.

_Just go, Johnny. There's nothing here for you anymore._ He thought. Hesitantly, Johnny turned his back to Sweet Apple Acres and began galloping toward Canterlot. _They'll pay for this. Every single one of them._

**Howdy there, Fanfiction! Before I conclude, I'd just like to say one little thing. To those of you that haven't seen your OC in the story yet, I promise you that they'll be included in the story. If you haven't seen yours yet, it's because I'm juggling so many points of view in the story that I can only put in so many OCs into a chapter and still have the story stay somewhat grounded. I'm not saying to stop sending OCs, but I just wanted to give a little explanation. Oh! While on that topic, thank you to these users for donating their OCs to the story:**

**-blastburnman**

**-Datfuqtupponi**

**You guys and your OCs are what make this story so great and keep sending them in! I hoped you guys liked this chapter and review/critique!**


	5. Rockets, Dragons, and Archers, Oh My!

**My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic**

**Chapter 4: Rockets, Dragons, and Archers, Oh My!**

-Border of Everfree Forest-

The armor-clad human looked up through the trees of Everfree, trying to see what was going on up there. He'd heard a loud 'MOTHERBUCKERS!' and then a lot of CO2 releases. Through his orange visor, Spartan 163 could barely see what appeared to be a dogfight between four golden-armored Solar Flare pegasi and one Lunar Eclipse of the same species.

The super soldier looked down at a circular blue indicator with the image of a Spartan using a jetpack in the bottom left hand corner of his HUD just above his radar. A lighter blue ring ran around the indicator, showing how much fuel his jetpack had. _Just enough for a small engagement. I should be able to run a distraction for that pegsus up there._ He thought, reaching behind him and pulling his modified paintball assault rifle off his back. The MA5C assault rifle had been modified to take paintballs instead of bullets and the magazines he carried were converted to paintball clips with the help of some of the technicians in the Lunar Eclipse camp.

The Spartan looked at the light blue indicator that showed how many shots he had. _145_ the screen read. _Or just take out his pursuers. It'd work either way._

"Perfect." The Spartan said with a grin. Activating his jetpack, the Spartan took off from the ground, shooting towards the fight above.

-Meanwhile-

_Okay. This was a REALLY bad idea._ Kalvin thought as he swerved left to right, trying to dodge the paintballs that were flying his way.

"Don't let him get away!" One of the Solar Flares behind him shouted just before firing a few shots, barely missing Kalvin by a few inches.

_I need to find a spot to hide! _Kalvin thought, his eyes darting one side to the other behind his mask. A few clouds were present in his sight, but none of which he could hide in. _Dang it! Where's Fluttershy when I need her?_ He thought, dodging yet another volley of paintballs.

Amidst the paintball shots, Kalvin began to hear a strange sound behind him. It wasn't the flapping of wings nor CO2 release, but it sounded like… rockets? Kalvin looked behind him to see that his pursuers were looking behind themselves as well.

Both parties had little time to comprehend what they saw shoot through the clouds. It looked like some sort of green armored… thing with two legs and two arms. On its head was an armor-matching green helmet with a dark blue visor. In its hands looked like some sort of weird gun.

The Solar Flares had little time to react before getting lit up by the armored foe. The spartan's aim was quick and accurate. Three shots per pegasus. Moving his aim from left to right, he took out the golden-armored pegasi in quick succession.

In pain and in surprise, the Solar Flare pegasi took off in the opposite direction screaming from both pain and shock.

Kalvin looked from the retreating pegasi to his green armored savior. "Wow. Thanks for the save, um…"

Behind his visor, Spartan 163 grinned as he landed on a cloud, his modified boots being able to stand on the fluffy surface. "Just call me 163." He said, taking a hand off his assault rifle and extending it in greeting.

"Kalvin." The gray pegasus responded, putting his hoof in the human's hand and shaking it. "Thanks for that, but what kind of a name is 163 anyway?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Spartan 163's grin faded. "It's my official designation as a Spartan of the UNSC. I was brought here on a ship, the Sigma Octanious."

Kalvin gave the super soldier a confused look. "A ship brought you here? I haven't seen any boats around here."

"Not a boat. It was an intergalactic vessel that had an accident with its slipspace drive. I was the only one left." Spartan 163 said, his head slightly dipping. "Turns out instead of being teleported to oblivion like the rest of the ship, I landed here for some reason."

Kalvin was surprised at this. "Oh. Sorry to hear about that." He said, feeling sad for the being's ship and its crew.

"Well I'm just making do down here. So until some other UNSC ship arrives, I'm just mingling with the populace." 163 said.

"Well that's good to hear. So have you been hiding out this whole time?" Kalvin asked.

"Pretty much. And speaking of hiding, where's your yellow friend?" 163 asked.

Kalvin's ears perked up. "Fluttershy!" He exclaimed just before getting ready to fly back to the cloud that he'd seen her take cover in.

"Don't move!" A female voice shouted, making both Kalvin and Spartan 163 freeze. They turned around to see two Solar Flares aiming their markers at them. "Hooves in the air! Now!"

Both Kalvin and 163 reluctantly raised their arms and guns into the air.

One of the two, a blue pegasus mare with an aqua blue mane spoke up, her voice being recognized as the one that first spoke. "A couple no-good Eclipses, eh?"

"What do we do with them, sarge?" The second Flare, a pegasus stallion with a purple coat and a streaked black mane said.

"I have an idea what to do." The mare said, taking aim at Kalvin.

Kalvin closed his eyes and braced for the shots. Two shots were fired, two shouts were heard, but the pain never came. He opened his eyes to see the Flares holding their butts. They turned around to see a yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane and tail.

"Let me get one thing straight here." Fluttershy said, glaring at the Flares from behind her mask. "You do NOT! HURT! MY! FRIENDS!" She shouted, causing both Flares to fly away in terror. Fluttershy turned back towards to dumbfounded Spartan and stallion that were watching the whole time. "What? Did I do something wrong?" Fluttershy asked, suddenly concerned about how she did in front of the two Eclipses.

-Canterlot Castle-

In the Solar Flares' strategy room, an alicorn and a unicorn slaved over a map that was sprawled out before him. The map showed everything from Manehattan to Las Pegasus, displaying known troop movements.

"Hmm. It's still not enough." The alicorn said, his bright orange eyes narrowing at the map. We need to transfer more squads from Las Pegasus to Ponyville."

"That's a long trip, Ledgend." The azure unicorn mare responded. "If they were squads of pegasi then maybe they could make it within a day or two. But all we have are squads of earth ponies and unicorns in there with the exception of a lone griffon."

"Well unicorns can teleport, right? Just get all the unicorns in the squads to mass teleport them away." Ledgend said.

The silver-maned unicorn gave Ledgend a look that said 'really?'. "Us unicorns are not as powerful as you may think, Ledgend. Even if we could get all the unicorns to teleport ponies, the farthest they could travel would be just outside the city."

"Well what about you, Trixie? Do you have any ideas?" Ledgend asked, almost daring her to suggest something.

"In fact I do." Trixie replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "You are familiar with the trans-continental railroad, are you not?"

Ledgend tapped a hoof on his chin. "You mean that multicolored train with a heart-shaped window for the conductor?"

"Exactly. Last I looked at the train record, it had just left Canterlot." Trixie said, a prideful grin stretching across her face.

"So what does that mean for the ponies in Las Pegasus?" Ledgend asked.

Trixie huffed. "Do I have to spell it out for you? The train that left from Canterlot is on its way to Las Pegasus. If they can board that train in time, then we can get all our forces back in the fastest way possible."

Ledgend thought his over and a smile of his own began to grow. "That's a great idea! Man, why didn't I think of it?"

Trixie gave Ledgend a displeased look. "Nevertheless, we need to send the message to our forces there."

"Did somepony say something about sending a message?" A voice said behind the pair of strategists. Both Ledgend and Trixie turned around to see a small dragon with purple scales and a light green underbelly, his eyes matching the color of his front.

"Spike? What are you doing here? I thought you, Twilight and Steve McGarret were holding the line outside." Ledgend said.

"Well there was… a bit of a hitch." Spike said.

_Flashback_

Everything was in slow motion. The paintballs flew through the air, he could hear the shouts, but not make out what they were saying. His breathing was heard against the golden mask that was on his face. The sweat trickled down his face- _Wait. Sweat? Reptiles can't sweat so why should I?_ Spike questioned as the sounds of battle raged around him.

"Spike! Fall back to the columns!" Twilight shouted over the noise of battle. Spike looked behind him to see Twilight and Steve McGarret standing behind the support columns of a building behind him.

"I won't be able to make it! It's too far away!" Spike shouted back.

"Come on, Spike!" Steve shouted, turning from around the corner and firing a few shots only to dart back behind cover when retaliating shots were fired.

Spike's grip tightened on his paintball pistol. _Okay. A few more shots, then I'm getting out of here._ He thought, standing up over the stone wall he was using for cover. With a quick look down the sights and the pull of the trigger, Spike sent an orange unicorn stallion packing for home with a green splat on the visor of his mask.

"Let's go, Spike! Fall back! Fall back!" Steve shouted over the CO2 releases that surrounded them.

"I need suppressing fire, Twilight!" Spike shouted back as a few paintballs splatted against the stone he was squatting next to.

"Got it!" Twilight shouted back, taking a moment to breathe a few deep breaths, mentally preparing herself to give Spike some covering fire. After a moment, Twilight turned back around. "On my signal!"

Spike got into a sprinting stance. He'd have to make it to Twilight's position pretty quickly if he was to not get hit.

"One!" Twilight shouted, beginning the count to the signal. "Two!" Spike's muscles tightened, ready to run as fast as his legs could carry him. "THREE!" Twilight bellowed, turning the column's corner and opened fire at random on the Eclipses.

Spike took the opportunity to run back to the columns, but just as he got up to run, the unexpected happened. A root that was sticking up from the ground caught his feet and tripped him. Spike fell on his face, his position plainly exposed to the enemy.

"NO!" Twilight shouted, her horn lighting up a bright purple. Aiming her horn at Spike, she fired a bright purple projectile at the fallen dragon. As soon as the projectile hit Spike, he disappeared in a purple flash of light.

_End flashback _

"So you don't know where they are?" Trixie asked. Spike shook his head.

"I still can't believe you tripped. Of all things to happen, it had to be that?" Ledgend asked incredulously.

"Beside that, what did I hear about a message?" Spike asked, eager to change the topic.

"Spike, do you know either a griffon named Gilda or a Braytish pony named Sedgwick?" Trixie asked.

Spike tapped his chin in thought. "I do know a Gilda, but based off the first impression I had with her, I don't think I'd want to see her again. Now I have heard of Sedgwick. Cream yellow, dark blue mane?" He asked.

"That's him." Ledgend said with a nod. "Can you send him a message?"

Spike promptly pulled a quill and paper out of nowhere. "Ready."

Ledgend wanted to question where he got the paper and quill, but figured he'd let it be. "Tell Sedgwick that all Solar Flares in Las Pegasus are to retreat to Canterlot for regrouping. There will be a train arriving in the next day to pick them up. Come with haste, Ledgend."

Spike finished the letter and rolled it up. "Ready to send." He said with a proud grin.

"Send it." Trixie said, nodding her head to the young dragon.

Spike walked to the strategy room's window and opened it up. Holding the letter in front of him, he took in a deep breath and blew a green flame at the letter. The letter disintegrated into the flame as it was carried along into the air.

"It's on its way." Spike said, closing the window.

"Good. Now there are just a two more recruits we need." Trixie said with a malicious grin. "Ooh Twilight is going to hate me for this."

Both Spike and Ledgend exchanged looks. "Um. Trixie, what do you mean by two more recruits?" Ledgend asked nervously.

"Twilight and Spike have been to an alternate dimension, have they not?" Trixie asked.

"Yeah. It was pretty much the same universe as ours, only everypony was bipedal." Spike said.

"Excellent. Because I know a pony who can help us out." Trixie said, trotting towards the exit.

-Ponyville-

Night Stalker and Spettro Umbra crept through the shadows of the alleys that divided Ponyville's buildings. _Where's Under Cover and her squad?_ Night thought, cursing his tardiness to join the fight.

"Hey. Any idea where Gear Shift's squad is?" Spettro asked, his crimson eyes cutting through the shadows of the alley."

"I was thinking the same thing, dude." Night responded, turning his charcoal black head to face the dark gray unicorn next to him.

Before either Spettro or Night could say anything else, a female shout rose up. "Good move, my unicorn foe! But how to counter it, I already know!"

"What was that?" Night asked as the pair of assassins began sneaking to the origin of the voice. As the dark gray unicorn and black pegasus rounded the corner of a small house, they saw two ponies having a magic duel. One pony, the presumed female one, had black and white stripes running up and down across her body, her matching mane done in a Mohawk style. _A zebra?_ Spettro thought. _There aren't many zebras around here. Where did she come from?_ He thought, his eyes turning to her opponent. Opposite the zebra was a unicorn stallion that had a deep blue coat and a purple mane and tail.

The unicorn's horn was lit up a bright blue, casting spells at the zebra. The zebra, on the other hand, was utilizing herb mixtures and concoctions to try to confuse and ward off the spells the unicorn was casting. A bolt of electricity shot from the unicorn's horn, but with the quick shattering of a jar, a large blue smoke shield rose up, blocking the lighting and reflecting it back at the zebra's opponent.

"Hey Night, that zebra's a Solar Flare." Spettro said, a malicious grin spreading on his face.

"How can you tell?" Night asked, taking his bow from off his back and taking an arrow out of a quiver he had at his side.

"That unicorn's Lightning Thorn. He's one of the best magicians in the Eclipses." Spettro said with a partial hint of admiration.

"And that zebra's going toe-to-toe with him?" Night asked out of both shock and respect.

"Yep. But it looks like he might need our help. Can you hit that zebra from here?" Spettro asked.

Night smiled. "Of course I can." He said, taking up his bow and drawing the bowstring, an arrow attached to the string. His brown eyes narrowed as his breathing slowed. Night lined up the shot, held his breath, and released.

-Meanwhile-

Both Zecora and Lightning were exhausted. Zecora was close to running out of potions to use against her magical opponent while Lightning's strength was wearing thin.

"You are _pant_ a good fighter, _pant_ unicorn." Zecora said, panting between words. "To have such power _pant _and use it for the Eclipses _pant _is certainly something to mourn."

"Same to you, zebra." Lightning said, a feeling of respect coming over him for the nonmagical fighter that had managed to be as equally strong as he was.

"Truce, then?" Zecora offered. "Until we meet again?"

Lightning nodded. "Agreed."

Zecora smiled at her unicorn opponent's noble attitude. Just as she began to turn around, a sharp pain shot through her head. "Gah!" She shouted, reaching behind her and feeling a paint-covered arrow stuck to the back of her skull.

Lighting looked at her in surprise after hearing the zebra's outburst. Seeing the arrow on her head, he sighed. "Night Stalker!" He called.

A dark gray pegasus walked out from behind a small house. "Yes, Lighting?" He asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"We just had a truce. You could've let her go." Lighting said, giving the pegasus a glare.

"Meh. Just one less enemy to deal with." Night said dismissively as he gestured for Spettro to come out of hiding.

Zecora pulled the arrow off her head and began to inspect it. It looked like a normal arrow except for instead of a sharp point, there was what looked like a suction cup that looked just the right size for a paintball to fit in it. "So you are an archer?" She asked. Night nodded. "Well then, I'll make my departure." Zecora said as she began walking back to her home in the Everfree Forest.

Lightning watched the zebra go back into the forest and sighed. "It would have been a pleasure to face her again."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Lighting." Spettro said, a grin spreading on his face. "You can still go ask her out if you want to."

Lighting rolled his eyes. "I am not interested in her. It just would have been interesting to see who came out on top."

"In more ways than one, I'll bet." Night whispered to Spettro. Spettro let slip a small chuckle.

Lighting sighed at his teammates' immaturity. "Come on. Let's go find some more Solar Flares. Maybe Night can try sticking an arrow in some of them." He retaliated.

Night's ears drooped and his eyes grew wide. "What?" he asked incredulously as both Spettro and Lighting began walking down the market road, laughing as they trotted along.

**Hey Fanfiction! I cannot express how much I love you guys and the OC's y'all keep sending my way! I'll do my best to get all of them in, so if you didn't see yours, there's nothing to worry about. I'd like to thank these users for their OC submissions:**

**-chescab**

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**As always, I hope you guys liked the chapter, review/critique, and keep sending me dem OC's!**


	6. Nightfall

**My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic**

**Chapter 5: Nightfall**

-Cloudsdale-

_Hold breath… Steady heartbeat… Wait for the right moment._ The pegasus sniper thought, his dark blue eye looking through his matching mask and down the scope of his trusty sniper rifle. Through his sniper scope, he could clearly make out several golden-clad hostile targets. Cloud Walker pressed a button on the side of the scope, activating a built-in rangefinder. Zeroing on one of his enemies, a small number appeared on the bottom right hand corner of the scope.

_Eight hundred yards. They won't see it coming._ Cloud thought, a smile stretching across his face. His silver coat camouflaged him with the cloud he'd set up his position on. Even if his auric adversaries were twenty feet in front of him, they still wouldn't be able to see him. _Well save for the mask._ Cloud thought, his eyes rolling at the thought that only his mask would compromise his camouflaged state, but it wasn't a deal-breaker at this range.

_They're eight hundred yards away, so I'll have to adjust._ He thought, bringing a silver hoof to a nob on the side of his sniper rifle. He slowly turned it, adjusting the feet-per-second at which his projectiles would shoot. _Let's see. The barrel's fifteen inches, so more air is required to push the paintball out… take into account gravity… carry the two… got it!_ Cloud concluded, turning the nob to just give the rifle the right pressure.

Cloud brought his hoof back under his sniper rifle and steadied his aim. Looking down the sight, he picked his target. A tan pegasus mare with a short goldenrod mane and tail that was patrolling in front of a cloud house with two of her squad mates.

Cloud licked his lips in anticipation of the shot. _Lead the target… account for wind speed and barometric pressure… and let 'er fly._ Cloud thought, pulling the trigger.

Meanwhile

A trio of patrolling pegasi trotted by the cloud houses that made up the Dizzy Heights neighborhood.

"I'm telling you. Neighpoleon was not as short as ponies say he was."

Wayward Son sighed at his squad mate. "And you can provide proof for that statement?"

"Of course I can." Wayward's companion, a maroon red pegasus stallion by the name of Case Study, said. "Neighpoleon's height was five foot two inches, but in Pranch feet. In our measurements, he'd be five foot seven."

Wayward's eyes rolled at Case. "Yeah right. How would we know that from today's measurements?"

"Because-" Case began, but was cut off.

"Hey guys, you hear that?" Said the female member of the pegasus squad, Sunny Days.

After a few moments of silence, nothing sounded but the whispering wind as it passed down the street.

Wayward's eyes narrowed as he scanned his surroundings. "No. I didn't hear any-"

"DAH!" Sunny cried, a green splat making itself visible on her hoof. "Right on the hoof! Jeez that hurts like a motherbucker!" She shouted, holding her already bruising hoof.

"Sniper! Get to cover!" Wayward immediately shouted, taking off down the street with Case Study close behind.

Meanwhile

"Gotcha." Cloud said with a satisfied grin as he put his hoof on the bolt lever of his rifle. Pulling the bolt up and back, he chambered another long-range paintball. Cloud pushed the bolt back forward and lowered it into its previous state as he looked through the scope. _So I got the mare, but there are those other two to take care of._ He thought.

"You know, it'd improve your cover if you weren't talking to yourself." A voice sounded behind Cloud. Cloud's ears dropped as he turned his head around to see a golden-clad pegasus pony. A smug look was found in the Solar Flare's light blue eyes as his wooden brown mane and tail flew behind him in the wind. In his hooves was a silenced submachine gun, aimed right at Cloud's head.

Cloud Walker grimaced at his assailant. "Eagle Eye." He said, recognizing the pegasus.

"Hello to you too, Cloud Walker." The pegasus spy replied. "Funny how we've ended up on different sides of the battlefield isn't it?"

Cloud slowly put down his sniper rifle onto the surface of the cloud he was on and raised his hooves. "I guess you could say that."

"And this is how it ends. You go home with paint smeared all over your armor and I scoff at you the next time I see you." Eagle said, looking down the iron sights of his submachine gun.

"Wait, did you modify the ACYR?" Cloud asked, taking his safety into account as he looked down the silencer that was screwed onto the barrel.

Eagle gave Cloud a displeased look. "No, of course I run around with a bullet-firing gun in the middle of a paintball war. Yes I modified it." He said in a snarky tone.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. So now what?"

Eagle looked away from his target and saw the sun being to set below the clouds in the distance, then back to the surrendering sniper. "I shoot you in the face and you go home." The Solar Flare said confidently, his eyes glancing at the sun's setting. "The moon will be rising soon and we'll be ready for you." With a smirk and the twitching of his hoof muscle, Eagle fired a paintball right at Cloud's visor. With a _thwack_, a new orange splat rendered Cloud's visor useless.

Meanwhile

"Is that sniper still active?" Wayward asked, pressing his back against an alley wall between houses.

"I don't know. Maybe we should poke our heads out and look." Case Study responded from the other side of the alley.

Wayward's eyelids drooped as a disgruntled look came upon his visage. "You know what? Yeah. You poke your head right out there and see if the sniper is still there."

Case narrowed his eyes at his squad mate. "You know what? I will." He said, stretching his head around the corner of the alley and into the open road.

Wayward watched his teammate, waiting for Case's head to jerk backward from the impact of a paintball. After about ten seconds of waiting, Wayward's eyebrow rose. _What? Is the sniper not there anymore?_ He thought. "Alright, Case. You've proven your point. Maybe the sniper ain't there anymore." Wayward said with a sigh, his eyes narrowing in skepticism.

A sound of static came over Wayward's helmet radio as Case pulled his head back into the alley. "This message is on an open frequency. Come in, any Solar Flares in the Cloudsdale vicinity." A familiar female voice said over the radio.

Wayward's ears perked up as he put a hoof to a button on the side of his helmet. "Wayward Son and Case Study reporting in. What are your orders, Princess?"

"Night is coming within the hour. We must be ready for whatever the Eclipses have planned. Return to Canterlot to await further instruction."

-Ponyville-

Johnny Dogwood trotted down the main street of Ponyville, the memories of the fall of Sweet Apple Acres fresh in his mind. _Maybe I should have stayed with them. It would've been the honorable thing to do, to go down with those that care about you._ He thought. _Wait. No! Applejack still needs to hear the news. If I stayed behind, then she wouldn't know what to think of her family and the farm._

Johnny pushed these thoughts from his mind as he continued walking down the street.

"Hey!" A whispered shout came from one of the corners to his right. Johnny looked and saw a small white unicorn filly with a two-tone mane and tail gesturing for him to come to her position. What caught his eye was the golden armor she was wearing. _A Solar Flare! Finally an ally._ He thought.

Johnny looked around and saw that it was only him and the filly in plain sight. He darted for the corner and stopped just short of the filly.

"Who are you?" Johnny asked, but the filly put up a hoof.

"We don't have much time. Come with me." She said, walking down an alleyway. Johnny followed the small unicorn until they came to a dead-end.

"What're ya doing?" Johnny asked, an irritated look finding itself on his face. He couldn't believe the filly dragged him into this alley for no good reason and show him a dead end.

The filly walked up to the wall and tapped the wall four consecutive times. "Hang on." A muffled voice came from the other side of the wall. With a _clik_, the wall slid open. Johnny looked inside and was amazed at what he saw. Hoof-mounted paintball markers lined the walls as three other fillies and two colts sat in the middle of the room looking over what looked like a map of Ponyville.

"Mister, welcome to the Safe Room." The filly said, gesturing Johnny to come inside.

-Canterlot-

A lone stallion looked down at the main street of Canterlot from his position on top of one of the many shops that lined the street. His blood red mane flew behind him in the wind behind his dark blue mask. _It's just me._ The stallion thought, his eyes looking up at the fiery orange sky. _The rest are gone. All because of that… lunatic._ He thought with a grimace. Never before had he encountered a pony that had such a passionate hate for the color red.

"Hello up there, Lunar Eclipse!" A high-pitched voice exclaimed below.

_What? _The stallion thought, looking down. On the street was a pink mare with a poofy bubblegum colored mane and tail. On her face was a navy blue paintball mask.

"Hello down there, my pink ally. And who might you be?" the stallion asked, a slight smile playing along his lips at seeing the mare.

"My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours?" She shouted from below.

"I don't really have a name. But most ponies call me Brick." He said.

"Well nice to meet ya, Brick! Wanna come down from there?" Pinkie asked.

Brick looked down at his position on the roof. _Yeah she's probably right._ "Sure. Give me a second." He said, his horn glowing a deep red. With a bright red flash, he disappeared from the roof and reappeared on the street below.

"Ooh. Nice teleporting." Pinkie complimented.

"Um… Pinkie? Who's this?" A voice behind her asked.

Pinkie turned her head to see Marko standing behind her with a look of concern.

"Marky, this is Brick." She said gesturing her hoof towards the dark unicorn in front of her. She turned back to Brick. "Brick, this is Marko."

Brick merely nodded his head in greeting to Marko. "This just the two of you?" He asked.

Marko gulped. "Um yeah. It's just us."

With a sneer, Brick spoke up. "Not likely. Look to the shadows and you'll find you're not alone." He said, looking past Marko and into an alley that the duo had just passed.

In the alley, Midnight could clearly see his opponent staring straight at him from the street. _How does he know?_ He thought in bewilderment. _Never mind that. I can't stay camouflaged for now._

A sinister grin flickered across Brick's face as he saw the shadowy assassin crawl out of his alley cover.

"How did you know?" The Solar Flare pegasus asked, his eyes narrowing at the unicorn.

"You think you're the first shadow-dweller I've seen?" Brick asked, his gaze never wavering.

Marko and Pinkie turned around to see Midnight Blade standing in the middle of the alley.

"Ooh! Good trick. How long have you been following us?" Pinkie asked.

"About five blocks." Midnight said, now cursing himself for not attacking sooner.

"What are you? A scout or an assassin?" Brick asked in a mocking tone.

Midnight's eyes tried to not reflect the fear he felt as he looked into the blood red-maned unicorn's eyes. "I am the enemy that you can't touch."

Brick snickered at the attempt to sound tough. "Oh please." He said, levitating two paintball pistols he had in the holster on his hooves and aimed them at the pegasus. Marko and Pinkie lifted their respective markers in Midnight's direction as well. "No way out, shadow-dweller."

Before they could pull the trigger, a gravely female voice sounded to the left of the Lunar Eclipse trio.

"Red." They looked to see a yellow mare with a light brown mane and tail. On her flank was a picture of a wooden block. Brick's breathe seized at the sight of the pony. It was the same pony that took out his squad. But how did she find him?

"Red." The estranged mare said again as she lifted two hoof-mounted paintball markers at Pinkie and Brick.

"This can only end so well." Marko said, whipping his gun around to face the crazed mare.

Meanwhile

"The sun is setting, my Princess." Archangel said, his eyes watching the sun slowly begin to set into the hills in the distance. "The time for our assault it nigh."

Behind him, the princess of the night grinned. "Excellent." She said, strapping her paintball marker to her right hoof with the tug of a strap.

Archangel continued to gaze at the bright descending orb in the sky, his golden eyes reflecting the sun's dying light. "All the squads are accounted for. We set siege to Ponyville at nightfall."

"Good. With my sister's sun gone, it'll make it much easier for our assassins and stealth operatives to penetrate their defenses first. Once their defenses are down, we can send in the bulk of the army. Ponyville will be ours at last." Luna said, her eyes turning to the setting sun out the window.

Archangel looked to Luna. "We have Canterlot, the Solar Flares will be retreating from Las Pegasus, and soon we'll have Ponyville. I'd say this calls for celebration." He said, a confident smile on his face.

"No, Archangel. A premature celebration would make us seem overconfident and cocky. I suggest we wait until after the battle to congratulate ourselves." Luna said with a slight smile.

Archangel nodded as he looked back out the window. _Tonight, we can win this war._

**Whazzup, Fanfiction! I'd just like to give a quick apology for the short length of this chapter compared to the others. Things have gotten pretty hectic here at school and I didn't have as much time as I wanted to write this. But I hope you guys liked this chapter and I can't thank y'all enough for the OCs you keep providing. Speaking of which, I'd like to thank these users for providing their OCs:**

**-Christ's Disciple**

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**As always, keep those OCs coming and I hope you enjoy the story! Review/critique and I'll see y'all next Saturday!**


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